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What is flaneuring? The walking trend that will leave you relaxed and inspired

We’ve all rediscovered the joy of a stroll this past few years. Here's how to take a walk that will boost your mental health.

When’s the last time you walked without your phone in hand or headphones in your ear? Or ambled just for the pure pleasure of putting one foot in front of the other, taking in your surroundings with no particular destination in mind?

We’ve all (re)discovered the joy of a stroll these past few years, with getting outside a lifeline during the pandemic. But the art of just wandering for the fun of it isn’t new.

I first encountered the term flaneur in travel writer Paul Theroux’s writing. It’s an untranslatable French word, he said, that means travel at its essence. Flaneuring is a leisurely ramble whose only point is to soak up the beauty in the details we otherwise overlook, as I took it. The tradition is traced back to gentlemen of means with plenty of idle time, loafers that 19th century French poet Charles Baudelaire saw as connoisseurs of the street.

And while the quintessential flanerie experience can be found in the dreamy streets of Paris, (think Owen Wilson in “Midnight in Paris”) we can indulge anywhere, according to Erika Owen, author of "The Art of Flaneuring."

Owen discovered the benefits of drifting when she moved to New York City and, short on spending money, would explore on foot. She didn’t realize her leisurely walks, sans destination, had a name until she read about other people’s experiences. Now they’re integral to her well-being, and she shares her passion for flanerie in her book.

The health benefits of flaneuring

So what’s great about an outing that’s not just a get-your-steps-in or get from point A to point B walk? For Owen, she found inspiration in unexpected places and moments, and a greater ease when finding herself in unfamiliar environments, during these strolls. The solitude also gave her mental space to work through issues, leaving her calmer than before beginning the practice, and the perspective gained from moving through the world helped her accept change more easily. Overall? She found herself happier in the way that comes with understanding yourself better.

Walks like this come with still more benefits, though. A study of “awe walks,” reported in psychological journal Emotion, found that older adults who walked in unfamiliar areas with instructions to notice details experienced a greater sense of well-being. Not only did they report greater joy than a control group who walked without instructions, the selfies they took as part of the study showed bigger smiles over the course of the study. This doesn’t surprise me; I still remember years later encountering a pistachio shop while flaneuring in Paris. An entire shop dedicated to pistachios! I grinned so widely at that, and at the many other moments of bliss in the city I found when I was unfettered by a plan or destination, that I feared people would think I was perhaps addled.

And though the origins of flanerie are steeped in urban environments, nature walks have their own rewards. Forest bathing, which can include simple walks in nature, can help people become more relaxed and happier.

Want to try flaneuring? Here's where to start

So where do you start? Does a daily walk with a dog count? Since I spend much of my outings looking at my phone or mulling over work or other issues while following the same route to the same destination as every other day, that’s a hard no.

Safety first

Of course while we want to relax and let our guard down, safety always has to be a consideration on walks.

“I don't run into many problems in my neighborhood in Brooklyn, but I know that is not the case for everybody,” she said. “Deciding to go out and take a walk is a very different decision, depending on if you're white, if you're Black, if you're a woman, if you're a man.”

It’s a good idea to let someone know where you’re going, Owen said, or even walk with a friend. And as romantic as flanerie sounds, it takes some practical forethought. Wear comfortable shoes and bring some water, she said.

Try a walking meditation

It’s almost like you’re on auto-pilot on walks like this, Owen said. But, she acknowledged, “it's really hard to go outside and be like, ‘I'm going to walk without a destination.’” Some advice that’s worked for her is to start with sort of a walking meditation, she said, “just to take yourself out of your brain.” She accomplishes this by listening to the sound of her footsteps, and matching it to her breathing. “Do that for a couple of minutes and you’re automatically going to have fresher eyes,” she said.

Play games

Incorporating games can help mix up your route, she said. Think: turn left when you see someone in a blue jacket.

Get creative when cold weather hits

We are approaching winter, and with that, comes fewer opportunities for outdoor flanerie. For those with access to, and who feel they can be safe in, public spaces like museums, those can offer an alternative for would-be flaneurs, Owen said. On days when the weather permits, bundling up and getting outside in brisk temperatures may actually come with some added health benefit. With some much-needed sunshine melting the snow this week, I think it’s time I leash up my dog and try a new kind of hometown walk, and go become a flaneur in my own neighborhood.

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